It’s rumored that the Ford Model T’s track dimension (the distance between the wheels of the same axle) could be traced from the Conestoga wagon to the Roman chariot by the ruts they created. Roman roads forced European coachbuilders to adapt their wagons to the Roman chariot track, a measurement they carried over when building wagons in America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.  (read more…)

The Hub Commentary ___

I like this post by my friend JP, it brings a whole new meaning to “being stuck in a rut”.  I ask, what is the point of new technology if we cannot use it as designed?  Think about when you are are purchasing a product or service and are greeted with “the system doesn’t work that way”.  Generally, I do not care how the system works – I just want to buy something, exchange something and not be bothered with what it takes someone to perform the task.

So I always find it curious as IT professionals why we impose these obstacles and roadblocks to progress in supporting our business.  Another news piece by one of JP’s colleagues also makes the point of why start-ups are successful, they meet the customer requirements.

Markets dynamics and business requirements change – how as IT do we use new technology to craft innovative solutions as JP says and operationally figure out how to monitor, manage and measure it.  The service providers know how to do this and will feast in 2011 on the IT organizations that do not become agile to market dynamics and business requirements.

Michele